How to choose an electronic target for a shooting range

An electronic target shows the result of a shot immediately — the hit coordinate, the miss, and often the bullet velocity — right on your phone. No walking downrange, no patching holes, no guessing where the string went. But “electronic target” covers several different technologies with very different capabilities and limits. Here is a step-by-step look at what to check, so you neither overpay for things you do not need nor buy something that will not work in your conditions.

In short: four questions before you buy

• Where do you shoot — outdoors or in an indoor range?
• At what distance, and with what ammunition do you work?
• What do you want to see — just hit or miss, or the full picture of the shot?
• How often do you move the equipment, and who sets it up?

The answers rule out half the market straight away. Now the criteria in detail.

Step 1. Where you shoot: outdoors or an indoor range

This is the first and hardest filter. Most accurate electronic targets work on an acoustic principle: microphones around the target catch the shock wave of a supersonic bullet and calculate the coordinate of the hole from the differences in arrival times.

In an indoor range that principle does not work: the muzzle blast and the shock wave bounce off walls, ceiling and barriers, create echoes, and the microphone array can no longer compute the point of impact correctly. So acoustic systems belong on open ranges and shooting grounds. If you shoot indoors, acoustics are not an option at all — you need other technologies (contact or optical), and their accuracy is usually lower.

Step 2. How the target registers a hit

Three main approaches, each with its own accuracy ceiling and set of data:

• Mechanical / contact (a steel gong with an impact sensor, paper on a roller). Cheap and simple, but at best they give you the fact of a hit and a rough zone — no precise coordinate, no ballistics.
• Optical / camera-based — a camera watches the target and detects the holes. Sensitive to lighting, glare and distance, and they need a clean target face.
• Acoustic — based on the bullet’s shock wave. They give a millimetre-level coordinate, the velocity through the target and the angle, and work with any target shape from the library. The price of that: an open range and a supersonic bullet (more on this below).

Sekundant builds acoustic systems. From here on the criteria apply to that class — that is where the differences between models decide the choice.

Step 3. Accuracy — and why calibration matters more than the number in the ad

Spec sheets like to say “down to 1 mm”. That is true — in ideal conditions. In practice what matters is the average error across a string after calibration. For our models it looks like this: Akustik about 2 mm, Gorizont about 5 mm, Gorizont Mini about 7 mm. Those are honest working figures, not a laboratory maximum — the foreign analogue is in the same territory, 2–3 mm in the field.

The key thing to understand: millimetre accuracy is only reached after calibration. Any target, once installed, sits at a microscopic tilt or rotation relative to the line of fire, and without a correction the coordinates in the app will not match the real holes in the paper. The procedure is simple — three sighting shots, walk up, compare, enter the correction. It takes a few minutes. If a seller promises “a millimetre out of the box, no setup”, that is marketing.

Step 4. Distance and ammunition

Two parameters where a purchase easily goes wrong:

• Distance. A good system has to hold the radio link out to the firing line you actually use. Our systems hold up to 1000 m between the acoustic unit and the gateway.
• Ammunition. Acoustics detect a supersonic bullet. The system registers a shot if the bullet is travelling at 400 m/s or more as it passes the target (note: the velocity at the target, not at the muzzle — the bullet slows down over distance). Subsonic ammunition and shotgun loads are not registered.

Step 5. What the target should measure

This is the line between an “electronic target” and a plain hit sensor. Ask what exactly the system reports. A good acoustic target does not say “hit / miss” — it gives the full picture:

• the coordinate of every hit and the scoring zone;
• misses within about 1 m around the target — you can see where the shot went;
• the bullet velocity through the target — a genuinely useful ballistic figure;
• the angle of arrival and the ambient temperature;
• MPI (mean point of impact) and group size, calculated automatically;
• scores, including IPSC mode, and timing figures.

The more of this the system works out on its own, the less you do by hand and the more useful the session.

Step 6. Setup and portability

If you move the target between locations, speed and ease of assembly matter as much as accuracy. Check: does it pack into a case, is there cabling to route, how long does setup take, what does it weigh. We have three formats for different scenarios: from a one-piece frame that deploys in a couple of minutes with no cables to connect, to a system that fits entirely into a single case for maximum portability. Battery life is up to 18 hours, operating range −20…+40 °C.

Step 7. Protecting the equipment from hits

The weak spot of many acoustic targets is microphones placed around the target: some of them sit inside the impact area and regularly take bullets. Replacing sensors costs money and downtime.

Look at the layout. In the Gorizont line the microphones are moved down, onto the horizon line, rather than around the target — the equipment stays outside the impact area and can be shielded by a berm or the terrain. Over a few seasons that directly affects the cost of ownership.

Step 8. The app and the analytics

The target is half the system; the other half lives on your phone. Here, look at how usable the interface is, whether there is built-in guidance, and how history is stored. The Sekundant app is for Android (RuStore and APK): it shows every shot, calculates MPI and group size, keeps statistics and compares strings, and includes a step-by-step walkthrough. Up to 2–3 targets connect to one app at a time — enough for individual and paired work.

Step 9. Price, what is included, warranty

Compare the package, not the price tag: is the frame included, how many microphones, is there a case, what warranty, and who repairs it if something fails. Buying directly from the manufacturer means no reseller mark-up, repairs without shipping the unit through a dealer network, and support from the people who built it. Our prices start from 98 000 ₽ for the base kit, with a 1-year warranty on the unit, the gateway and the microphones.

Pre-purchase checklist

Which model suits you

The Sekundant line has three formats of one technology — the choice depends on your priority:

• Akustik (from 98 000 ₽) — maximum accuracy and flexibility. Microphones around the target; build the frame yourself or take the ready-made one. Right if accuracy and budget matter most.
• Gorizont (140 000 ₽) — everything in one case, microphones on the horizon line, maximum portability and protection for the electronics. For those who constantly move the system between locations.
• Gorizont Mini (150 000 ₽) — a one-piece metal frame with integrated wiring: unfold and shoot, no cables to connect. The fastest setup.